Timothy and Titus, in other words, "teach us to serve the Gospel with generosity, in the awareness that it also involves serving the Church itself". Hence the Pope’s exhortation to be, "through our concrete commitment" and "especially at this time of Advent", "also rich in good deeds and thus open the door of the world to Christ, our Saviour". In the first part of the audience in Aula Paolo VI which today was introduced in the Vatican Basilica, specially focussed on the congregation of Calabria, that have come in large numbers for their bishops’ visit "ad limina" the Pope defined the figure of Timothy "almost an alter ego" of Saint Paul’s, "an wandering figure of a disciple", who then became the first bishop of Ephesus. "The son of a Judean mother and a pagan father", Timothy "was raised in a family that was not strictly practising, even if he is said to have known the Scriptures since his childhood", recalled the Pontiff. As to Titus, Saint Paul praises him as "my son in the true common faith", whom the apostle entrusted, among others, with the task of "bringing the rebellious community of Corinth back to obedience". Saint Paul also defines him "my companion and collaborator" as well as "a reason for consolation". Of pagan origin, Titus became the first bishop of Crete.
